"To the Light"
Rob and Jamal are out walking one day and they come to the spot where Double-T (the poet Rob meet in the previous story) usually sets up his cart. The pair find most of Double-T's things either ripped up or broken in half. Rob is worried about the welfare of the man so Jamal suggests that both they and the team should make a case out of finding Double-T. Meanwhile, a girl named Lisa comes to New York to find her father, a man named Thomas Norburt. Something rings a bell in Rob's mind: That name is vaguely familiar for some reason... Where is Double-T? Can Rob help both Lisa find her dad, and the team while they track down Double-T? Plot Part 1 Intro This arc doesn't have an introduction. Story The arc begins with Rob and Jamal enjoying an afternoon off from school. Jamal is excited and wants Rob to come to the store "Different Spokes" with him to check out the new dirt bikes. Rob says that he can't because he's meeting up with Double-T, and he's going to show him some of his new stories. Jamal is aware that Double-T is the homeless man who writes and sells poetry, but he tries to convince Rob to go to the store with him to see the brand new sparkling dirt bikes thinking it will a lot more fun. Rob says he can't, because since he has the afternoon off school, he promised to meet with him and to show him his new stories. Then just as they get to Double-T's corner, they got a shocking surprise. Double-T's corner is a mess! Double-T's corner has been trashed, there is spilled books and papers everywhere. Rob is shocked wanting to know where Double-T is and what happened. Jamal suggests he may have forgotten, but Rob says that he couldn't have, because he arranged their meeting for the day. Inside a nearby milk crate, Ghostwriter finds Double-T's personal poetry book, and just about all the pages are torn out. Then from predicting that Double-T is gone and that all is stuff is trashed and broken that maybe someone attacked him and he ran off. Then Rob asks Mr. Meheran (the owner of the store in front the corner) where Double-T is and what happened to him. Mr. Meheran says he doesn't know, because the mess was there when he arrived there in the morning. However he mentions to them that Double-T's been very quiet lately. Also that he's been very nervous pacing back and forth like someone was planning to sneak up on him. After Mr. Meheran returns to his shop, Rob expresses his concern suggesting someone could have attacked or mugged Double-T and he ran off. Jamal then invites him to his house, to figure things out. When they get to Jamal's house, Jamal suggests there may be a clue of what happened in his book. Rob is reluctant to look inside his friends personal poetry book, because he understands how private his personal stories and poems are. But Jamal persuades him to because there is no other way. Rob opens the book, and finds out that there only three poems left. He reads an Untitled Poem out loud. The poem is serious and full of meaning. Rob says it's because Double-T places bits of himself into his work. Jamal suggests that from the last line "No I've got to flea" that maybe he's trying to run away from something. Jamal suggests they call a rally, and get the rest of the team to help. Rob isn't so sure they'd care about some homeless person and doubts that they would care. Jamal tries to convince him that they're all his friends, and are willing to help him in any way. Therefore, Rob calls a rally. However he does it on Jamal's behalf using Jamal's initial writing Rally J on a piece of paper. Then in Lenni's Loft, we see Alex and Gaby are over visiting. The three of them are proudly looking at the cover of the new Hoodman comic book. Since they've won the contest in the previous arc, they appear in the issue as a super hero team called "Lenni the wise and her friends of five. Gaby thinks her mask looks the coolest. Alex agrees teasing her because it covers most of her face. Gaby taps him says very funny as Lenni laughs it off. The suddenly, Lenni notices the starburst on the cover spinning around. Then Ghostwriter rearranges the words to says Rally J, and three of them head over to Jamal's house. Then over at Tina's house, she and her mom are excitingly reading out a grocery list. This is because, Tina is going to be having a Vietnamese Dinner party with all her friends and they'll be making it all from scratch. The last thing she suggest is to have sweet rice and black-eyed beans for dessert. Her mom happily says yes because it's her first dinner party. Then suddenly, the grocery list scrabbles up. Ghostwriter rearranges some of the words to say "Rally J". Tina then makes up an excuse, she tells her mom that she promised to meet her friends this afternoon. Her mom tells her that there won't be time, because they have a lot of shopping to do for the party. Therefore Tina agrees to tell her friends she won't be able to come. Then soon, Lenni, Alex and Gaby all come over and sit down in Jamal's living room. Jamal explains that Rob was the one who called the rally. Alex cheers for Rob and Jamal explains that he needs their help. Rob isn't so sure, but Jamal encourages him to tell them. Rob explains his friend Tommy Truborn is Double-T and he thinks he's in some sort of trouble and had to run away. Lenni reminds them that Double-T is the homeless man who occupies the street corner. This is where he writes and sells poetry for a dollar a piece. Gaby remembers now and she prefers not to think about him, because some homeless people are scary and dangerous. Lenni tries to reassure her that some of them aren't. Because late thanksgiving, her dad and band played for the people at a homeless shelter, and served them the food. Also that some of the people were really nice. Alex says that some of them are weird. Rob explains that he used to feel the same way, until he met Double-T. In a flashback it shows that Ms. Sally Lewis invited Double-T to a poetry workshop to share some of his poems. This was where they met, and how they bonded over their love for writing. Also that he gave Rob wonderful support and advice on how to tell his dad and make him understand how he really felt about writing. Lenni then backs Rob up saying that Ms. lewis wouldn't have invited him to the youth center, if he was dangerous. Hearing this Gaby agrees that she has a point. Jamal explains that being homeless can happen to anyone, a friend of his had the building to his apartment burn down. Since his family didn't have anyone to stay with in the city, they had to live at a shelter for six months. Gaby is confused that since he doesn't have a home, then how can he be homeless. Rob explains that corner is like his home and after he helped him make his dad understand him better they gradually became friends. Then suddenly Rob gives up and asks them to leave it to him, because he's his friend not theirs. Jamal asks him to give them all a chance. Rob explains to them that they were supposed to meet today, but when they got there he was gone and he never breaks his word and all his stuff was broken and trashed. All they could find was his poetry book with three poems left inside of it. Jamal explains to them they think Double-T is in danger and that Rob needs their helps and asks them if they're in. Lenni and Jamal agree, but Gaby still isn't so sure, then after thinking about she reluctantly agrees. Seeing this Rob is happy that they do care after all. To start, they review the three poems and Gaby makes copies of them in her casebook. Rob reads the poem Saigon out loud. The poem once again is very emotional and powerful and they feel they can actual see what they were hearing. Gaby is confused what the black rain drops meant, until Lenni helps her understand that bombs were falling out of the sky like fat black raindrops. Still they are puzzled about what a "Saigon" is. So Jamal looks it up in the dictionary, and they find out that Saigon is the former name of the capitol city of Vietnam which is now known as Ho Chi Minh City. Hearing this, Rob mentions that there was a war fought in Vietnam. He knows this, because he dad used to be a pilot. His father was in the air force and fought in Vietnam in the 1960's. Then he retired just before they moved to Brooklyn, and he now works for the Veteran's Administration. Gaby reads and finds out that the Vietnam war went on from 1955 until 1975. The in 1965, the USA began to send their own soldiers to serve in it. Rob then reviews some lines from the Saigon poem. The lines are "My helmet falls, and the bombs pour hard", this hints them all to suggest that Double-T also served in the Vietnam war. To be sure, Rob decided to ask the Meheran, because sine he and Double-T talk all the time, he may know. Then we see Grandma Jenkins is delivering mail. She comes by a house where new tenants have just moved in. She finds a small dog lives there now. She tries to speak nicely to the dog, but he viciously barks at her. She tells the dog that she's been delivering mail for years, and no dog has ever stopped her before. She then offers it a cookie, but doesn't seem interested. Then finally, she tosses it a bone and it runs off to catch it. This gives her enough time to enter the yard to deliver the mail. However, before she can it runs up to her and gnaws on her pant leg. She is very mad and upset and gives up for the day. She checks the name on the dish and finds out it's named "Winston". She then tells him that know she knows his name and says good bye to him and that he hasn't seen the last of her. Then surely enough, Mr. Meheran reveals that Double-T did mention he was in the war. Also he tells Rob of a certain shelter house he sometimes sleep at. However, the shelter doesn't not open until 6:00pm. Rob thanks him and decides to check with his dad at the V.A. as well. Then next the Ghostwriter Team checks the poem To The Light, which is about Double-T's street corner. They ask Ghostwriter what "toward a light, at the long tunnel's end" means. Ghostwriter answers them saying it's a chance for hope. Almost like if you're lost in a long tunnel, you think you're never going to get out again. Then when you see light at the end of it, you know there is now a chance. Now they are confused about what "Lay a flame nears sacred names" means. They then suggest it might mean lighting candles for someone sacred. Then Gaby mentions that sometimes at church she lights a candle for St. Anthony. Also Lenni mentions that every year on the anniversary of her mother's death, her father lights a candle for her. Then Lenni recalls there being a candle shop near Double-T's corner. So thinking he might have gone to buy candles, so lenni and Gaby head over to it to see if he's been there. Then Rob goes over the V.A to see his dad. He mentions Double-T to his dad and his dad remembers he's the homeless man he mentioned. He then tells his dad that he thinks Double-T served in the Vietnam war and was wondering if his computer has any information about him. Colonel Baker says the computer should have information on all veterans, but unfortunately the information is confidential. The only people who can see it are the veterans themselves or members of their own family. Rob tries to convince him to, stating that it's important because he believe his friend is in trouble or hurt. His father still says no and tells him that he feels he shouldn't associate with him anyways, because a homeless person can be dangerous. Rob gets mad and says he isn't dangerous and he will find him whether he helps him or not and leaves. Then back at Lenni's loft, Lenni and Gaby had no luck at the Candles shop because Double-T never came to it. They're both frustrated and wondering if lay a flame near sacred names doesn't mean candle,s then what else could it mean. They ask Ghostwriter on Lenni's computer, and all he can think of is Candles too. Also Ghostwriter tells them that a candle in the window will help you find your way home. Then Rob goes over to the shelter, it's called Fort Greene's Men Shelter. Inside the building, a teenage girl is exasperated. She asks the Security Guard if a certain someone stays at the place sometimes. She then tells him she's looking for a man named Thomas Norburt, and she's been checking all the shelters around the city all day. The Security Guard doesn't answer her. He just keeps telling her she can't reveal confidential information to her. Then finally she gives up and leaves. Then next Rob asks the Security Guard and hints that he wears an army jacket with colored patches all over it. Then by guessing by his smirk, Rob guesses he does know Double-T. The Guard then reveals he does know Double-T, but he hasn't been over for a couple of nights now. The Guard then points to a man named Hush and suggests to ask him since they're friends. Rob goes over to Hush and asks him if he has seen Double-T. But Hush is quiet and just storms off and leaves into the sleeping area. The Guard laughs saying that's why they call him Hush, because he doesn't say very much. When Rob leaves, he meets with the pretty blonde teenager. Rob tells her he's looking for his friend, and she tells him she's looking for her dad. He introduces himself as the girl introduce herself as Lisa. She says her dad has been gone for about a year. The only place where she could think to write letters to him was the D.A. However, the D.A. couldn't figure out where he was staying. Since he just came in person to pick them up. Therefore she was instructed just to check all the shelter houses. Lisa is upset because she only has two days left and she hasn't found him yet. Then she shows him a postcard he mailed her. Rob recognizes the poetry in the postcard and compares it with Double-T's poem. He then asks her what his name is. She tells him it's Thomas Norburt, Rob compares his last name to Double-T's last name and he comes up with a surprising suggestion. Rob suggests to her that her father and Double-t are the same person. Because they both use poetry, they are both Vietnam vets and Truborn is an Anagram for Norburt. Lisa isn't so sure, but rob is certain that Double-T is her dad! Part 2 Rewind Story Cast Ghostwriter Team *Todd Alexander as Rob Baker *Sheldon Turnipseed as Jamal Jenkins *Blaze Berdahl as Lenni Frazier *David Lopez as Alejandro 'Alex' Fernandez *Mayteana Morales as Gabriella 'Gaby' Fernandez *Tram-Anh Tran as Tina Nguyen Co-Stars *Marcella Lowery as Grandma "CeCe" Jenkins *Dean Irby as Reginald Harmony "Reggie" Jenkins *Kristy Graves as Lisa Norburt *Daniel Ziskie as Colonel Baker *Mihran Guilan as Mr. Meheran *Paul Lee as The Security Guard *John Griesemer as Hush *Pon Yang as the elderly man who gives Tina the mai flowers *Ginny Yang as Mrs. Nguyen *Richard Eng as Mr. Nguyen *Conrad Roberts as Mr. Bertram Braithwaite *Marilyn as Winston the Dog Special Guest Star *David Patrick Kelly as Double-T/Tommy Truborn/Thomas Norburt Notes *This was the last five part story arc, this arc and "Ghost Story", were the only arcs produced with five episodes, as all the others were four-parters. *This was also the first of several story arcs where Dean Irby played Jamal's father Reggie. That part was previously played by Samuel L. Jackson. The Full Story Arc Ghostwriter To the Light Episode 1 Ghostwriter To the Light Episode 2 Ghostwriter To the Light Episode 3 Ghostwriter To the Light Episode 4 Ghostwriter To the Light Episode 5 Category:Season 1 Category:Episodes